A week on from the victory of Sal Da Vinci, we compare the monthly listener numbers of the 30 singers at Sanremo 2026 to find out who benefited most from the Festivàl effect… and whether that effect still exists at all.
The outsiders hit the jackpot: the Sanremo effect (almost) multiplies listener numbers by thirty
The most striking leaps forward belong to artists who started from a very modest listener base and saw exponential growth. The duo Maria Antonietta & Colombre lead this trend by far with a dizzying +2,774% increase, going from around 75,000 to over 2.1 million monthly listeners. Right behind them are Bambole di Pezza, who exploded with +2,526%, and the duo LDA & Aka 7even, who more than tenfold their numbers with a +1,175% rise, topping 4.5 million combined listens (adding together the individual artists' figures).
Another band of very strong growth, though below the tenfold threshold, includes artists who consolidated a strong moment of popularity. Ditonellapiaga posted an excellent +864%, coming close to 2.8 million listeners. Leo Gassman (+622%) and Levante (+459%) also saw their numbers multiply rapidly over the period in question: proof that the "Sanremo effect" is still crucial in shifting artists' streaming figures.
When it comes to the absolute top of the rankings in terms of volume, the percentage growth naturally drops, but it still translates into millions of new real listeners. Those who could already boast a substantial listener base, in other words, cannot expect to see their numbers multiply tenfold: it's fair to say there simply aren't enough users on Spotify — at least in Italy — to deliver such results for names that are already hugely popular, such as Luchè.
Fedez and Marco Masini, who top the overall chart, still more than doubled their audience with a +122% increase, adding almost 4 million listens: this is the result of the "Sanremo effect", but also of the distortion caused by the double-credited track, which leads to double-counting anyone who listens to their Ariston entry.
There were also excellent consolidating performances from Sayf (+235%), somewhat surprisingly, and of course from Sal Da Vinci (+265%), both now well past the 3 million mark. By contrast, artists such as Luchè (+36%), Raf (+58%) and Eddie Brock (+64%) show more modest growth.
If we look instead at absolute volumes — that is, the new listeners actually gained — the picture aligns much more closely with the Festivàl's final verdict. Sanremo's Top 5 (Sal Da Vinci, Sayf, Ditonellapiaga, Arisa, and Fedez and Marco Masini) matches perfectly with those who moved the biggest numbers on Spotify, all adding between 1.8 and almost 4 million listeners.
To dominate at the Ariston, a massive streaming push is now decisive: it's practically a prerequisite for victory. Yet a few "champions of the people" stand out: LDA & Aka 7even, the outright leaders in growth with over 4.1 million new listens but outside Sanremo's Top 10 (11th place), and Maria Antonietta & Colombre, who exploded with over 2 million net new listeners but were relegated to 21st place overall.
The two rankings are shown below.
Ranking of the 30 singers at Sanremo 2026 by monthly listeners (updated as of 08/03; compared with data from 23/02/2026)
Ranking of the 30 singers at Sanremo 2026 by listeners gained (updated as of 08/03; compared with data from 23/02/2026)
Note: for duos, the monthly listener count is calculated as the sum of the figures for each individual artist.
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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Antonio Silvestri, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.